Xu Ke and Li Piyue exit roles on West Brom board, Guochuan Lai new chairman

Not only have West Brom sacked Valerien Ismael today, but the club has also rung major changes on the board.

It has been confirmed in a statement [2 February] that controlling shareholder Guochuan Lai is now the chairman of the club, replacing Li Piyue.

Ron Gourlay has also replaced Xu Ke as the chief executive officer, adding plenty of experience in the English game having previously held senior roles at Manchester United, Reading and Chelsea.

What does this mean?

In all honesty, this can only be a good thing.

No one knew a shred of history about Ken and Li before they arrived on the board at West Brom and at least Gourlay is someone with a wealth of experience at the pinnacle of English football.

Lai's involvement as chairman should also be a good thing.

Many of us were angered by the Chinese businessman's silent approach to being the Baggies' controlling shareholder but since he surprisingly arrived in England earlier this season, some money has been pumped into the squad and a swift decision to sack Ismael has been made.

Lai could be permanently relocating to here to have a more hands-on approach to the club while working alongside Gourlay.

Albion fans will want to know why this has happened because the last time there was a huge shift on the board, it led to our relegation from the Premier League.

In other West Brom news, as well as Ismael, another man has lost his job at The Hawthorns.